It was the fourth quarter, with a minute left on the clock, and the Indiana Fever was tied 102-102 with the Seattle Storm. Flau’jae Johnson drove to the rim for a crucial lay-up, but Caitlin Clark had other plans. She blocked Johnson and then hit a clutch three at the other end to put the Fever ahead. The play punctuated the hard-fought game the Fever guard produced as she finished with a career and franchise-high 45 points. However, Clark could not help but criticize the Fever defense after the 110-107 win.
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“It was kind of an embarrassing performance on the defensive end, I’ll be honest. We really have to find a way to be better, and I think we can simplify things a little bit and make it easier on ourselves,” Clark told Kelsie Kasper during the post-game interview.
“But as you said, we came up with big stops when we needed them. I’m proud of our group. We got some big rebounds.”
This game against the Storm was the 9th time this season that the Fever have conceded 100+ points, which is more than any other team in the league. They currently rank 11th in points conceded per game at 89.0, but only part of that can be attributed to their fast-paced playstyle.
In fact, it was Caitlin Clark who carried them against the Storm with a record-breaking performance. Clark became the first player to score 40+ points and drop 10+ dimes, becoming the fastest player to 200 threes in just 74 games. However, she remained unsatisfied with the team’s defensive performance.
In this game without Aliyah Boston, the defensive frailty was even more evident. The Storm shot 57% from the field and scored 66 points in the paint. The Fever lost the battle on the boards 35-26. The size disparity was also evident with Dominique Malonga and Awa Fam having a field day around the rim. At one point, the Fever held a 17-point lead, but the Storm went on a run late in the 2nd quarter to cut it to 3.
Even with Boston on defense, the team hasn’t always succeeded, and their July 16 loss against the Golden State Valkyries showed that. With Clark not at her best, Golden State showed why they are leading the league with only 76.1 points allowed per game, winning the clash 88-75.
As Clark suggested, they could make things less complicated, as the Fever has adopted a heavy switching style this season. They could move away from that to avoid communication breakdowns. This is not a sustainable way to win games, and unless they solve their defensive woes, the Indiana Fever will not be a true contender.